A Need to Protect
by sue-sylvester-shuffle
Summary: (Takes place around 4x8) Mako tells his grandmother, Yin, that he is in love with Prince Wu. Her positive reaction prompts him to do something he never thought he could do. (WUKO.)


**AN:** So a few days ago, I finally finished LoK! I know, I'm late to the party (as always). But I really enjoyed it. I was very pleased with the Zhurrick and Korrasami outcome! Although I do prefer Borra to Korrasami, I ship them both SO MUCH, and Korrasami is also wonderful because of the LGBT+ representation! Anyway... enjoy more crappy Wuko fanfiction!

xXx

Mako was not a timid guy.

He had survived on the streets with Bolin for years. He had been a Pro-Bending champ. He had faced Amon, and seen his friends nearly die at the hands of various criminals. He was a police officer, for heaven's sakes, and he had trained under Lin Beifong. He was brave, and he was never afraid to speak his mind.

Until that day.

The firebender paced across the floor, wringing his hands. There was something on his mind, and it had been eating him alive for weeks. He was in love with Prince Wu, and it was the first time he had ever had feelings for another boy before. He was confused, angry, and scared, and yet he was completely head-over-heels for the prince. Mako wanted to confess his feelings to his grandmother, Yin, for she was one of the only people he would feel comfortable telling.

 _But what if she never wants to speak to you again?_ a little voice inside Mako's cluttered brain whispered. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to clear his head. _No. No. She loves me. She'll always love me, no matter who I love._

Yin was inside her bedroom, knitting. Mako, who was standing right outside the door, could hear her humming to herself. He was so close… and yet he couldn't bring himself to go inside.

All of a sudden, the door opened. Mako jumped, caught unaware. His grandmother appeared in the doorway, looking concerned. "Mako, what's wrong? You look so pale!" she said.

"I'm okay, Grandma. I… I just…" He paused for a moment, steeling his nerves. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Of course. Let's go into my room." suggested Yin.

"All right." responded Mako, and followed her inside.

Once they were in, they both sat down on her bed. "Now, what is it?" asked Yin.

"Grandma, I…" Mako was struggling to speak. His heart was pounding, and his mouth felt dry. "…I'm in love with someone."

A wide grin spread across her lined face. "Oh, Mako, that's _wonderful!_ What's her name?"

 _Her._ Mako's stomach was tying itself into a complex knot. "It's, um. It's a he."

"A he?" Yin repeated. She nodded. "All right, I'm sorry for assuming. What's _his_ name?"

Shock exploded throughout Mako. "What? You mean you aren't mad at me?"

"Mad? Mako, I would never be mad at you for something like that. Love is love." replied Yin. "Now, go on, tell me his name."

"Okay." Relief and excitement spread through him slowly, like warm water running over him. "It's… well, it's Prince Wu."

Yin's smile grew bigger, and she clapped her hands together with joy. "Oh, _Mako!_ You love the prince! Of course you do. I can't believe I didn't see it sooner." She reached out and took his hands in her own. "I'm so happy for you, dear."

Mako found that he was grinning too. "Thank you, Grandma. It means a lot to me that you… that you're okay with this."

" _Okay_ with this? I'm _ecstatic!_ You're going to marry into _royalty!_ "

Mako's cheeks burned. "Um… I don't know about _marriage_ yet. I haven't even told Wu how I feel…"

Yin continued smiling, as if she hadn't heard what he had just said. "Imagine that!" she said distantly. "We'd be related to royalty."

"I guess that's true."

All of a sudden, she looked back into his eyes. "Mako, I think that the prince may have feelings for you too. You know, he's _always_ talking about you. You're his hero, I know that much."

Mako's heart soared, and he laughed breezily. "Yeah, he _does_ talk about me a lot."

Just as Yin opened her mouth to respond, there was the sound of a door squeaking open from nearby. "I'm awake now!" announced a familiar voice.

"There he is." said Yin. "Go get him, Mako."

With a newfound surge of confidence, Mako nodded and got up off of the bed. He headed out into the hallway to find Wu walking toward him. "I just had the _best_ nap, Mako!" exclaimed the prince. "I didn't dream at all. Well, actually, I had this one dream, where I was at the zoo and-"

Mako was not a timid guy. He lifted Wu right off of his feet and pressed his lips to the prince's. At first, Wu went rigid with surprise under Mako's capable arms, but he relaxed after a few moments and wrapped his own arms around the firebender's neck. The prince's legs came up and wrapped themselves around Mako's hips. Mako was having a strange sensation that was somewhere between controlling lightning, and settling into a hot bath. From somewhere behind him, he could hear a cheer from Yin.

With Korra and Asami, he'd always found himself either trying to protect or control them. Sometimes both. They'd both been too strong to be pinned down by his needs. But Wu was always searching for someone to protect him. After all, that was Mako's job. He'd grown up protecting Bolin with his life, but after the earthbender was able to fend for himself… Mako had never really grown out of the habit. He didn't mind protecting Wu. In fact, he needed it just as much as the prince did.

Mako really did love him, and not just for his need to be protected. He loved Wu's devotion, his humour, his affection, and the way he could flip from a hapless fool to a real leader on a dime. And he couldn't remember the last time he'd been so happy to be kissing someone, or doing anything really.

When he and Wu broke apart, he found that Wu was grinning. "Am I still dreaming?" he asked. "Because I've had dreams suspiciously like this."

"Nope, uh, this is real." Mako said, and mentally kicked himself for sounding so awkward and stilted. Wu, however, didn't seem to mind.

"I can't believe this is happening. We totally just _kissed!_ "

"Yeah." Mako replied, and smiled. "We did."

"I always knew you loved me, Mako. I _always_ knew it!" Wu shouted triumphantly.

"You did? 'Cause I didn't."

The prince laughed. "That doesn't matter now. All that matters now is… _me._ And you. _Us._ "

"And, y'know, the whole Kuvira thing." Mako reasoned with him.

Wu shook his head. "Nah, let's not think about her. And, uh, Mako… while you're already carrying me… could you bring me down to the kitchen to get some of those delicious sticky dumplings?"

Mako chuckled to himself. He didn't mind carrying Wu around, especially not now. If that was what a life with Wu would entail… he would enjoy every day of it.

end


End file.
